Vegetarian Star

"Project Runway" Gretchen Jones

Gretchen Jones, the Oregon-based designer who pledged to use sustainable materials on this season’s Project Runway, has battled it out to the finals. Most recently, the contestants were challenged to design a look inspired by New York city. Gretchen travels to the lower east side, using the brick facade of buildings that inspires an outfit consisting of a white top, skirt and leather cropped jacket.

The jacket could have been faux, but if it wasn’t, the designer who introduced herself as the purveyor of organic  fibers made a fashion faux pas to present leather as a material in her collection of sustainable designs.

We’ve already touched on the how the production of cattle hide outnumbers that for meat, which could lead to an increase in raising cattle to meet the demands of the fashion industry, even when there is no greater demand for meat.

This point was driven home in Greenpeace’s “Slaughtering the Amazon” campaign, which plainly stated, “It’s the fashion industry—rather than the meat one—that is driving an increase in cattle farming.”

An article by PETA highlights more pessimistic information. Animal skins are finished with toxic substances like formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives and tanned with dangerous chemicals like chrome, considered hazardous by the EPA. Groundwater near leather tanneries has been found to be elevated with levels of the substances and The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the incidence of leukemia among residents near one tannery in Kentucky was five times the national average.

Let’s hope in the future, Gretchen puts an organic cotton denim jacket on her models instead.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Giorgio Armani Eliminates Fur From Fashion Lines
• Meatless Mouthful–Stevie Wonder Says Vegan Helps His Good Looks And Planet
• Pamela Anderson Launches Vegan Shoes
• Nikki Reed Launches Freedom Of Animals Handbag Collection With Morgan Bogle
• Ellen DeGeneres Promotes Leather And Suede In New Shoe Line